WWE Backlash Breaks Company Records
It was a record-setting edition of WWE Backlash according to information released by the company about the show.
This past Saturday at Backlash, World Wrestling Entertainment held a Premium Live Event (formerly known as a pay-per-view) in Puerto Rico for the first time since New Year’s Revolution 2005. After 18 long years, the Puerto Rican crowd brought energy to the show and was praised by many fans as one of the best crowds ever.
In the main event, Cody Rhodes was able to overcome “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar by countering a Kimura Lock submission into a pin attempt that was good enough for the three count.
Bad Bunny also had a very impressive performance when he defeated former tag team partner Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight that featured cameos from former Puerto Rican stars like Savio Vega and Carlito.
The company issued a press release on Monday while noting that it was the highest-grossing and most-viewed edition of Backlash in history.
WWE DELIVERS RECORD-BREAKING BACKLASH IN PUERTO RICO
STAMFORD, Conn., May 8, 2023 – WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that WWE Backlash, which emanated from the Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, became WWE’s highest-grossing and most-viewed Backlash in company history.
Viewership of Backlash saw a 28 percent increase versus the record set in 2022. The event, which featured Bad Bunny, the most-streamed music artist in the world, marked the largest gate ever for any WWE event held in Puerto Rico and the largest gate in the history of Backlash.
More than 34,800 fans descended on San Juan, Puerto Rico, for back-to-back sellout nights of SmackDown (16,896 attendees) and Backlash (17,944 attendees). It also marked the most social Backlash of all-time, led by over 40 million views of the San Juan Street Fight featuring Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest. The hashtag #WWEBacklash, accompanied by a custom Bad Bunny emoji, trended No. 1 across the entire evening of sports.
In addition, Backlash broke merchandise and sponsorship records. As the first-ever WWE event under the expanded partnership with Fanatics overseeing the on-site event retail experience, top-selling items included the Backlash and LWO Puerto Rico t-shirts. Sponsorship revenue surpassed any Backlash event in history, breaking last year’s record with a 98 percent year-on-year increase through partnerships with Netflix’s FUBAR, Mike’s Harder Lemonade and Xfinity.
